While Genji had descended to Suma, no one took care for Suetsumuhana, the Princess Hitachi. Her house was deteriorating. The owls hooted in the forest. The strange phantoms called Kodama appeared. The rushes were thick and wormwood touched the eaves; bindweed had firmly barred the gates. The boys deliberately drove their cows and horses around in the spring and summer. A typhoon blew down the galleries of her house. Even robbers passed, finding there nothing to see. 

Princess Hitachi had an aunt who had a grudge against her sister, the mother of the princess. Now that her sister's house was in ruins she would have liked to hire her niece as governess. The aunt was proud of her husband who was presently appointed assistant viceroy of Kyushu. Parking her luxurious cart in front of the mansion, she pleaded with her lady to go with her. When the princess refused to go, she got so angry that she took all the reliable women. The princess was in such despair she wept.

Wisteria blossoms, trailing from a giant pine, waved gently. The branches of a willow dropped to the ground in a great disordered forest, which Genji remembered. He had his carriage stopped, and sent Koremitsu to see the interior. He knew Suetsumuhana still lived there. Koremitsu beat at the grass with a horsewhip and led Genji, whose feet and ankles were soaking. The Princess Hitachi, who had not changed, impressed him.